White House defends transparency record after scathing CPJ report

The White House is defending its record of transparency after a scathing report found that the Obama Administration's unprecedented efforts to control leaks have had a chilling effect on journalism.

"From the day he took office, the President committed his Administration to work towards unprecedented openness in government," said Eric Schultz, a White House spokesperson. "As part of the President’s unparalleled commitment to reforming Washington, this Administration is the first ever to release White House visitor records," Schultz said. "Over the past four years, Federal agencies have gone to great efforts to make government more transparent and more accessible than ever, to provide people with information that they can use in their daily lives. Just this past year, the government processed more [Freedom of Information Act] requests, decreased the backlog, improved average processing times, and disclosed more information proactively." "But these are more than just statistics," Schultz continued. "They represent the efforts of agencies across the government to meet the President’s commitment to openness. While creating a more open government requires sustained effort, our continued efforts seek to promote accountability, provide people with useful information and harness the dispersed knowledge of the American people."

The White House says it has processed more than 2.5 million FOIA requests and highlights Obama's signing of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act as being among key achievements in its effort to increase transparency.